![]() He led the post-World War II Mountaineers, which also included the likes of Clyde Green, Fred Schaus, Bobby Carroll and Eddie Beach, to a total record of 72-15 in his four seasons. ![]() What Leland “Lefty” Byrd found in Morgantown was not only an All-American basketball career but also much, much more. On a recruiting trip to visit prep wunderkind Jimmy Walthall in nearby Princeton, WVU was alerted to Byrd’s talents, and a short time later, a scholarship was offered and accepted. Jones, who eventually moved back to Morgantown after his playing days, was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and was an inaugural member of WVU’s Mountaineer Legends Society in 2017.ġ2 – Leland Byrd (1945-48) – A 6-foot-3 guard whose father was a high school coach, Byrd was a talented though somewhat unknown prospect while growing up in tiny Matoka, West Virginia in the ‘40s. A third-round draft pick of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers in 1983, Jones spent five seasons playing in the Continental Basketball League, earning the CBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1984. Jones’ 251 career steals were not topped by another Mountaineer until Jevon Carter came on the scene (J.C. Greg finished his West Virginia career with 1,797 points, which is still the sixth most in school history, and 430 assists (eighth-most). Jerry West is West Virginia’s only other two-time conference player of the year, and WVU hasn’t produced another conference regular-season player of the year in the 40 seasons since Jones’ graduation. ![]() He was a first-team all-conference selection in each of his final three seasons with the Mountaineers, and he was the league’s player of the year in both 1982 and ’83. With Jones averaging 15.1 points per game in 1981-82 and 22.2 in 1982-83, West Virginia would receive NCAA Tournament bids in both. ![]() He averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game as a sophomore in leading the Mountaineers (23-10) to the NIT semifinals in the program’s first postseason appearance in 13 years. With Moore’s graduation following the 1979-80 season (15-14), Jones took over as WVU’s starting point, and he would hold that job for 92 games over the next three years. He spent his freshman season (4.7 points and 1.3 assists per game) as an understudy at the point guard position behind Lowes Moore. After a prep career in which he led Rayen High to a 23-1 record while scoring 24.9 points per game as a senior, WVU won the recruiting battle for Jones. Please feel free to visit our message boards at to provide your own thoughts on this list, either pro or con.īelow is another installment in this lengthy series with a count down from No. It is completely subjective, and obviously opinions may differ. In this 21-part series, I’ll count down the 100 greatest Mountaineer men’s basketball players of all-time.Īdmittedly this list is not scientific. Former Mountaineer basketball All-American Kevin Pittsnogle signs an autograph after his induction ceremony into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame
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